Today was a scheduled rest day and that’s exactly what everyone did!
We are staying in an incredibly beautiful and comfortable Hacienda just a stones throw from Cotopaxi with stunning views of the mountain right out the window.
The team ate well, read books, napped, and just generally lounged around to recharge after our challenging time on Cayambe. We’ve had some great conversations about life, shared cooking tips and some exciting and funny stories about being in the mountains.
Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to one more night of good sleep before heading to our final climb tomorrow.
RMI Guide Eric Frank led the Four Day Summit Climb August 23 - 26 to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Eric reported windy conditions and cloud cap forming on the mountain. A low marine layer is sitting below Camp Muir. The team began their descent from the crater rim at 8:40 AM PT. They will return to Camp Muir and then continue to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp later today.
Congratulations to today's Summit Climbers!
Our Mt. Shuksan team checked in with us last night. They were at camp eating dinner and all is well. The team will train today and start their alpine start to the summit in the early morning.
Here are some photos of the view from their camp.
RMI Guide Steve Gately
The Four Day Summit Climb team led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Tyler Jones reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Tyler reported clear skies with north winds of 20 - 25 mph.
Congratulations to today's teams!
The team met up around 8 a.m. for a not too early breakfast. Afterwards we split up and set out on the streets of Mendoza, running all of our last minute errands. We visited a couple gear shops, hit the pharmacy, grocery store, all the usual stuff before reconvening for a team lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Nicolas, our liaison from Grajales, was kind enough to deal with all the permit rigmarole that is normally a complete pain. So the pace of the morning wasn't nearly as rushed as in years past.
Our transfer out to Penitentes showed up at the hotel and we loaded up our gear and hit the road. The drive to Penitentes is absolutely gorgeous, rolling through the vineyards outside of the city, up into the foothills, and eventually making our way into the heart of the Andes. Four hours on the road brought us to the Grajales packing facility where we unloaded and spent the rest of the afternoon packing up for the mules and prepping for tomorrow's start up the hill.
Psyched to hit the trail...
RMI Guides Billy Nugent and Katrina Bloemsma and team
.....and thank you for the updates Billy ! Just know that there are many of us at home checking the blog multiple times a day for any and every bit of the story .... So don’t be hesitant to overload us with detail :)
RMI really does it right .... Wine and grilled steak ....And with chimichurri I bet!
Relieved to hear the temps are significantly warming at the summit ..... I never thought I’d be happy to see a -7 windchill forecasted for later next week (rather than the -35 I’ve been seeing).
Hoping and praying for continued health and goodness for you and all your comrades. Feeling especially confident since your flock of angels are comfortable with the altitude ;) and cared for you so well in Mendoza!
Missing you tons and tons but so happy for all you are experiencing.
..... Always in my thoughts and prayers…M.
Posted by: MFG on 1/16/2016 at 5:03 pm
Dear Dad (Rick),
I miss you sooooo much, I hope you are doing all right, and I love you.
From,
Hillary
Posted by: Hillary and Hallie Haggard on 1/15/2016 at 4:38 pm
Showers, movies, pate, and packing for the upper mountain. Today we are resting and organizing at Plaza de Argentina, the basecamp for Aconcagua. Everyone is feeling great indicated by full nights of sleep and healthy appetites. The basecamp amenities have surprised us all in excellent food and comfortable accessories. The mules headed back to the barn yesterday leaving us with much heavier loads of food, fuel, and warm layers to heave up this mountain. Everyone agrees that on this beautiful warm sunny day at 14,000 feet the best part is the company. We have a tremendous group of climbers who are all acclimatizing well and ready for a carry of gear tomorrow to Camp 1. Hello to all!
RMI Guide Christina von Mertens
Buenas noches from our camp on Pico de Orizaba!
Today we traveled from Puebla well rested and ready for our next adventure. Arriving in Tlachichuca we rigged for the mountain in the familia Reyes compound, our base of operations. It is always a treat to come here and enjoy the hospitality (and lunch!) of old friends. What a way to start off the climb!
Now we are tucked away in our sleeping bags and off to the night land for a while before launching upward under the moonlight! Wish us suerte!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Hello!
We're in Namche Bazaar, neurological centre of the Khumbu Region, and capital-of-trading village where Tibetan and Sherpa met with their nomadic goods to exchange.
The journey here is steep, ornamented route that poses some challenges as we start venturing into the thinner air. But we managed it with ease.
Today we had the opportunity to spot, for the first time and among the clouds, the silhouette of the 1st and 4th tallest mountains in the world. We're eager to continue to trek further in and higher up to see more!
That's it for now.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
We've gotten eleven climbers -and their gear- through an assortment of aircraft and airports to the outskirts of Arusha, Tanzania. What with ample jet lag, it can't be declared with certainty that all are now sleeping at the Arumeru River Lodge, but all are now in residence (at 4 AM). In a few hours, we'll wake up to begin a Kilimanjaro adventure. It will begin with coffee and a velvet monkey or two out in the garden-like patio of the lodge. We'll eat breakfast (if the monkeys don't) and meet finally as one big team to figure out the start of our week-long climb to the highest point in Africa.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hey there. It's Eric Frank calling from the North Cascades on our climb. We were able to get up Forbidden Peak two days ago. We walked out of Boston Basin and had a nice rest day in the sun yesterday in Bellingham. Today we are checking in from the north side of Mount Shuksan. We climbed up the Fisher Chimneys Route today, and then depending on what we find in the morning, we may end up climbing the north ridge of Mount Shuksan. Our good weather has gone away for the moment, and we're sitting in a cloud currently. All-in-all things are going really well though. We'll keep you updated tomorrow. Take care.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls in from the North Cascades.
Hello Dear Rob !!
.....and thank you for the updates Billy ! Just know that there are many of us at home checking the blog multiple times a day for any and every bit of the story .... So don’t be hesitant to overload us with detail :)
RMI really does it right .... Wine and grilled steak ....And with chimichurri I bet!
Relieved to hear the temps are significantly warming at the summit ..... I never thought I’d be happy to see a -7 windchill forecasted for later next week (rather than the -35 I’ve been seeing).
Hoping and praying for continued health and goodness for you and all your comrades. Feeling especially confident since your flock of angels are comfortable with the altitude ;) and cared for you so well in Mendoza!
Missing you tons and tons but so happy for all you are experiencing.
..... Always in my thoughts and prayers…M.
Posted by: MFG on 1/16/2016 at 5:03 pm
Dear Dad (Rick),
I miss you sooooo much, I hope you are doing all right, and I love you.
From,
Hillary
Posted by: Hillary and Hallie Haggard on 1/15/2016 at 4:38 pm
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